T L o Z : The Dreamweaver
by Agent Spliced
Summary: an after story to Twilight Princess, set as Link follows the steps his ancestor once took in the game Majoras Mask to find the land of Termina. Follows Links story as he uncovers the new evil hidden behind a very different looking mask. Rated M in accordance with new guidelines to later chapters violence and adult themes . "OCs" are the Termina natives.


To old readers, welcome back. To new readers, hope you enjoy. Once again it seems I have a story to tell, this time borrowing from what Link was doing at the end of Twilight Princess. Hopefully I will be able to keep to the same ridged schedule of my previous updates, and perhaps even get around to finishing/bringing up to date my Alice story. And so, without further adieu...

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The sound of the hoofs hitting leaves echoed in the fading daylight between imposing trees. Blue eyes, crystal clear, shot between the tall sentinels for any sign of wildlife; none greeted that gaze. Not perturbed, he clicked the reigns sightly, patting the roan mare on the neck, and urged his mount forward despite the growing dark.

Link was no fool. He knew these woods, or thought he did; he'd traveled through them all his days from the time his mother and father had left them for... Wherever it is people go when they pass... And after the adventures of before, after driving a sword through a dark god's quivering body, after standing on a hill with a torn and triumphant princess... after watching a woman he knew better than himself disappear forever... It felt only right to bid his fellows, the kingdom, good-bye and start on that cleared path behind the village, behind everything, and really see where it went.

It almost felt like he'd done it before.

A quick look down and a flick of his hand and his lantern appeared in his fingers, lit and ready. He attached it to the bridle so the pool of light cast was clear enough for both man and horse to see by, then again peered through the trees. When he'd started out, days ago, the trees were skinny but tall, and except for the careful path cutting through the underbrush prevented eyes from seeing far. Now, though, the thick trunks stood unwavering in the darkness by an even thicker canopy and the ground beneath was clear, save for the paths of leaves. It was easy to get turned around, easy to lose track of time... Easy to forget time, for a fleeting-

A branch snapped.

Link pulled the reigns up tight and looked around. A few leaves fell, but when he turned his eagle eye to the boughs he saw nothing out of the ordinary.

He looked back down and he was in a clearing.

Slowly, his head tilted. Dismounting, patting Epona gently on the neck with soft clicks of his tongue, he stepped forward. Leather boots met with tender blades of grass that the red mare was also discovering to her fancy. Large sapphire eyes surveyed the wide stumps, the circle of weeds, and the large tunnel that opened ahead into seemingly flat rock and great tree. He walked slowly, boldly, toward this opening, hand on the hilt of the sword at his side...

Another, louder snap and a branch fell so close to the horse that the poor tame creature rushed forward, knocking her master aside to plunge into the coming darkness. Link tried to call for her, but she had already disappeared into the shadows beyond that strange crevice. With nary a thought, he ran in after her...

...To find a similar clearing to the one he'd just left! He would have bet magic at work and he'd never left, except this one sported even larger tree stumps that were close enough to jump to to get to the tunnel opening. He did so, feet stepping lightly, and ran into the tunnel, hearing nothing from his horse.

Lights flashed before his eyes in the darkness, visions of strange shapes dancing on the walls that seemed hazy, like some long-forgotten memory. They intensified when, distracted by the masked colors, the path ended at a precipice and he fell into deep black. The darkness fell over him, and he passed out of space and time...

...Then a light blinked on from no where.

He opened his eyes to what seemed to be a sudden flash to find it was merely a column of filtered sun through the roofs of trees. Hazy thoughts drifted through his mind as he surmised what had passed must have been night and starlight, playing tricks in dim glow, and what was now was morning.

But if morning, why so dark? If nothing alien about the area, why did his limbs feel like jelly?

He groaned, trying to move, finding he could, and tried to make sense of his surroundings. The ground he lay on was cool and soft, covered with large pink flowers of a strangely symmetrical shape and bounced softly when he moved his hands on or off them. He blinked, taking in their heady perfume, as his grip tried to find purchase on their flimsy surface. Trying to stand, he pulled his body up to look around, only noticing then why it was dark.

How he hadn't noticed before, he could not say, but a figure stood over him, shielding the already dim light of a leafy canopy from view with a large paper parasol. It was bending over him, indistinguishable for the cloths that covered every inch besides long pale fingers and empty green eyes, and it seemed to be studying him for injuries or... He jumped up suddenly, and the figure stood up straight, no change wrought in its even green gaze. He noticed then it was small, perhaps timid, and of no threat to him whatsoever.

He waited. The figure said nothing, merely looked at him steadily. "Hello?" He asked, in the common Hylian. The figure nodded once, and then started moving. He saw only the barest sign of legs beneath the long write robes as it glided across the grass with only the softest rustle. "Am I meant to follow...?" He questioned aloud. A pause. The hood moved to almost look back, then up. A soft, echoing chirp, and two small birds, one golden and the other brown, answered the call and flew from branches to the small being's shoulders. Then with no more answer to him at all, the walking started again, heading for a large stone wall seemingly built into the vines and tangles around them.

"Wait!" He called, deep voice echoing unfamiliar across the trunks of trees. Had he ever called this loud back home...? The retreating back in front of him paid no heed if indeed his voice made any sound at all, and he caught a glimpse of a hand only slightly darker than the clothes around it turn an ebony knob and disappear into shadow.

He raced after, sword unsheathed, and upon finding himself in a large cog-filled room paid no heed to it or the forest behind, intent on the tracking of the one who'd brought him here. Wheels turned in far-off places in the edge of his vision, barely seen, for the inner workings of this place was no brighter than the shaded area he'd left. Clangs, screeching of metal- those were what invaded his senses. No swishes of fabric, no flashes of white. The path ahead was straight planks with a wired fence to a drop in darkness; so the path had been since his entrance to the strange area. He smiled dimly to himself._ This whole place is strange..._

The door rushed up on him so suddenly he questioned his sight. It was gigantic, imposing, and stood as though it had stood there for a thousand years. Maybe... Maybe it had... He placed a hand upon it, and felt a certain warmth. From the wood, perhaps? Did the heated core that kept the gears around him turning lay beyond this imposing structure? Perhaps he should turn back, and see if there was another way through he'd missed in his haste...

A sigh blew his hair away from the nape of his neck, and he snapped his head around. Was someone...? He took a step toward the platforms where shadows danced and watched as nothing did everything. Fingers flexed as the other hand adjusted the grip on a drawn weapon. Then oceanic eyes turned back to the door that had never known an axe's swing.

It was pushed open. And the world roared.


End file.
